I Never Said That
by task0778
Summary: Story follows ending of Ladybug episode 19 of season 3, what i would like to see happen.
1. Chapter 1

This story starts right after the Ladybug episode, #19 in Season 3. It's not a follow-up on my earlier story entitled The Letter. This story relates to the events that could unfold going forward that I would like to happen.

NOTE: there are some spoilers for the recent episode that aired 10 Sept, entitled "Ladybug".

At the end of that episode, we see Marinette dumbfounded to see Adrien and Lila together on TV, and apparently going to do a photoshoot together.

This story is written in 3 chapters, each one will be posted daily.

1\. I didn't agree to this

Adrien is in his room doing his homework when he gets a text message from Nino.

"Dude, what are you doing, getting all chummy with Lila after what she did to Marinette?" writes Nino.

Adrien texts back, "what are you talking about, I'm not getting chummy with her!"

Nino responds, "Oh yeah, have you seen the reports on TV that you're doing a photoshoot with her next week? And pictures of you and her getting all cuddly?"

"WHAAAT! What pictures? I'm not doing any photoshoot with her! where did you see this stuff?"

So Nino sends him the TV video. "Everybody has seen it, dude! Are you telling me you didn't know anything about it?"

"No, I don't, but I going to find out PDQ! We'll talk later after I find out what's going on!" Adrien ends the texting and goes in search of his father but finds Nathalie instead.

An upset Adrien confronts Nathalie. "Nathalie, what's going on? Did my father approve of a photoshoot with Lila Rossi? Did he approve of those pictures that were on TV, which by the way were photoshopped? I never posed with her like that!"

"I think maybe your father should answer those questions," she answers. "I'll see if he's available."

"You do that, and tell him also there will be no photo shoot with me in it until I get some answers!"

"As you wish," and off she goes.

A short time later, Gabriel Agreste appears in his son's bedroom. "I hear we have a problem," he says to Adrien.

"Yes, we do," replies Adrien. "Did you approve of a photoshoot of me with Lila Rossi?"

"Yes, I did. I thought it would be a good idea considering she's your girlfriend" says his father, but Adrien interrupts. "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, AND NEVER WILL BE! DID SHE TELL YOU THAT SHE WAS?"

Gabriel says, "Yes, she did, and she said you were okay with the photo shoot, and," but Adrien interrupts again. "Did she also tell you everything she did and said that were lies to get Marinette in trouble and expelled from school? Stole the answers from a test and planted it in Marinette's handbag to make her look like the thief, pretended to fall down the stairs and said Marinette pushed her? Put a piece of her jewelry in Marinette's locker and claimed Marinette stole it? Did she tell you that too?"

"No, I didn't know that, but," and again Adrien interrupts his father. "Why didn't you ask me first, before agreeing to any photoshoot? Did you also approve of those photos of me and her that were displayed on TV? Did you? Do you know they were photoshopped, those were doctored pictures, I never posed with her for any pictures, other than the selfies she took without my permission. Are you aware of any of that?"

And he continues, "You've been manipulated and lied to as well, father. Those pictures of us on the TV were photoshopped and displayed without my permission or yours. Isn't that a problem for you?"

"Yes it is, I was not aware of those pictures and didn't agree to their release. I thought the two of you were close and believed the best approach was to accept the relationship and get out in front of the story. I see that I was mistaken." Gabriel looks at his son and says, "I only want what's best for you, son."

Adrien confronts his father. "What's best for me is that you let me decide who my girlfriends are. I am not a fool, and I am smart enough not to have anything to do with manipulative liars and con artists. When I find the girl I want, I'll bring her home to meet you, but until then you're going to have to trust me not to make stupid mistakes. And if I do, we'll face them together. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear, my son. The photoshoot with Ms. Rossi should still take place though, unless she backs out. No need to make a scandal out of this. Agreed?"

"Agreed, father, but one and only one photoshoot. No appearances, no interviews, no other pictures, agreed? Eventually, this story will die down and when at some point I appear with another girlfriend it will seem as being normal for a 15-year-old boy."

And as an afterthought, Adrien says, "we might want to find out where those pictures came from and who put them out there first. Whoever it was needs to know that the Agrestes do not take kindly to unauthorized pictures of a minor."

"Agreed." They look at each other for a few moments, then Gabriel gets up to leave. "I don't want to see you hurt. Be careful who you befriend."

Adrien gets up off the bed too. "Way ahead of you, father. Maybe sometime I can bring over a few of my friends and you can see for yourself who I associate with. They are people of good character."

"That might be a good idea, son. Goodnight." And with that, the conversation is over.

I am assuming in this story that Gabriel did approve the photoshoot, but not the pictures of his son and Lila. Which I think were photoshopped, since he doesn't really like her as much as the photos might indicate.


	2. Chapter 2

2\. OK, what do we do about it?

While the discussion is ongoing in Adrien's bedroom (Chapter 1), Nino, Alya, and Marinette are having their own discussion, in Marinette's bedroom.

"You're telling me that Adrien didn't know about the photoshoot and the pictures?" asks Marinette.

"That's what he said," replies Nino.

"I smell a rat, a female rat named Lila Rossi," offers Alya. "Spreading more lies again."

"I think you're right, but Mr. Agreste has to be involved somehow. She must've lied to him too, big time." This from Marinette, who is still shocked by what she saw on TV. "Alya, can you dig around and see where those pictures came from and who put them out there?"

"I'm on it," a determined Alya responds. "No stone unturned."

"Adrien will let us know what's up," says Nino. And at that point, Nino's phone rings. It's Adrien, and Nino puts him on speakerphone.

"Hey, everybody. I just got done talking to my father, he did approve of the photoshoot but not the pictures. Lila told him she was my girlfriend, so he agreed to the shoot. After I set him straight about that, he said he didn't know about the pictures, which by the way were photoshopped. I never posed for those pictures with her."

He continues, "Look, I went to her and told her if she wanted to keep me as a friend she had to clear up the lies she told about Marinette, which she did. But I never said I would be her boyfriend, no way. It was all I could think of to get Marinette out of trouble."

To which Marinette replies, "Thank you Adrien, I appreciate that so much. My parents were getting ready to send me to another school. I was at my wit's end trying to find a way out, but after the meeting in Mr. Damocle's office I could tell she wasn't finished trying to cause trouble."

"You are most welcome Mari," Adrien replies. "I don't know what else to try except the direct approach, in front of the whole class. When she comes in tomorrow morning, I'm going to let her know where she stands with us and hopefully the whole class. I think we should text everybody in the class and let them know what's up and what's coming because we want everyone watching. And I think it has to be me that does it, my words carry the most weight with her, I guess. Somebody needs to get the word out to be there early. Hopefully, nobody will fall for any more of her lies."

"Works for me."

"And me."

"And me too." This last from Marinette. Then she adds, "but are you up to this? You aren't known for getting in someone's face."

"Yeah, you're more a puppies and kittens kinda guy," teases Alya.

"Hey, I can be the hard-nosed tough guy when I need to be," answers an affronted Adrien. "Marinette's more the wimpy girl type person than I am."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that, I'm thinking a major butt-kicking is coming somebody's way in the near future," she responds with a giggle.

"At what," he asks.

"Whatever," she answers.

"Al," says Nino, "Is this where we gracefully bow out? Things could get personal in a minute."

"Go ahead," says Alya, "I got some popcorn and I'm ready for the show to start."

"Won't be any show," laughs Marinette. "He'll get his comeuppance soon enough but not now."

"We'll see about that," Adrien says. "I'll take my chances."

"High marks for guts, low marks for discretion," inputs Nino. "Good luck, bro. I think you're going to need it. See you tomorrow, I gotta go."

"Me too," says Adrien, followed by Marinette. "Homework awaits."

"Yuk."

"Yuk."

And "Yuk."

Author: this conversation and the one in chapter 1 both occur before Lila confesses her sins in Mr Damocles office


	3. Chapter 3

3\. Telling it like it is

The next morning, the entire class is there when Lila walks in, looks around, and sits down at her desk. Then Adrien stands up and turns around to face her.

"Lila," he begins, "yesterday I asked you as a friend to fix all those lies you told about Marinette that got her into trouble and expelled. Which you did, and I'm grateful for that, but I never said I would be your boyfriend. And then I found out you lied to my father when you told my him you were my girlfriend, so he would agree to a photoshoot with you and me in it. And then you sent some photoshopped pictures of you and me to the TV station and told them you were my 'squeeze', or something like that. You lied and manipulated people, including me, and to be honest I don't think it's due to some rare disease. I think you lie and manipulate people to get what you want because that's who you are."

"Well, I don't want to be friends with a person like that. Nobody does, because it's hard to like someone if you can't trust them. Straight up, it's time for you to look in the mirror and decide what kind of person you want to be. I hope for your sake you decide to be a better person than you are now, because if you don't then life is going to be a lot harder and lonelier than it has to be. And if you mess with Marinette then you're messing with me."

And with that, he sits down and nobody says a word. Ms. Bustier walks in a minute or two later and class starts. No one is looking at Lila, whose head is down so no one can read the expression on her face.

At lunchtime Lila calls Gabriel Agreste, but Nathalie answers the phone and tells her he is busy. "He does not tolerate failure, and you have failed," Nathalie tells her. "The photoshoot is still on if you wish to participate, but it probably will not be as cordial as you might want it to be. Do you still want to do it?"

"I think not," replies Lila. "In view of the circumstances, it might not be the success I hoped it would be."

"Very well," says Nathalie, "we will cancel it then. Thank you for your call. Goodbye." And she ends the call.

Meanwhile, Marinette is having a meeting with her classmates. "You all know what's going on. I'm not telling anybody what to say or do, but I think we should not be mean to Lila or treat her badly. Frankly, we don't need her to get akumatized again, but more importantly, it's about each of us and the kind of person we want to be. If she changes her ways, great. If not, well then I don't want to be friends with somebody like that."

"Me neither," replies someone, followed by others.

"You know, Mari, you're such a nice person. I wonder sometimes if you're for real." Laughter from everyone.

Adrien speaks up, "I told you guys she is our everyday Ladybug," earning a deep blush from Marinette. "And look how red she gets too, I haven't seen anything that red since I last saw Santa Claus."

Everybody laughs, and Alya asks Adrien if he still believes in Santa Claus. "Of course! Doesn't everybody? Who here doesn't believe in Santa Claus?" No hands go up.

Adrien turns to Alya. "There you go, Ms. Jaded Reporter."

The bell rings and it's time to go back to class. They troop in by ones and twos, laughing and making fun of each other. Except for one person.

.

Author: one more chapter to go, it has a surprise ending that you won't want to miss. Tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

4\. Illumination

When class is over for the day, Adrien turns to Marinette and asks her if he can walk her home. "I need to speak with you in private somewhere," he says.

"Okay," she replies. "Can Alya and Nino come with us? I already invited them over."

"Sure," Adrien says. "I'm always glad to have our best friends around."

To which Alya and Nino look at each other and raise their eyebrows. So, together the four of them make their way to the bakery, three of them wondering what's on Adrien's mind. Soon enough, they arrive and walk into the bakery, where some snacks and pastries await them.

"So, what's on your mind, Adrien?" Alya asks, and all eyes are on him.

He looks down for a second then looks at all of them and starts talking. "When all this stuff went down and Marinette got expelled, I realized that she could be walking out of my life and it hit me like a ton of bricks that I definitely did not want that to happen. It was like there was this big hole in my chest where my heart used to be, and I had to do whatever I could to change things so she wouldn't leave. That's why I went to Lila and offered to be her friend if she would take back all those things she said and did. I didn't say 'boyfriend', just 'friend' because I knew I was never going to be close to her or anyone who is like her. And I'm so glad it worked."

He pauses, then continues. "All this time, I've had this thing for Ladybug, and I've always thought that a guy isn't supposed to have feelings for more than one girl at a time, because then somebody eventually gets hurt. And it's not honest, and I don't want to be dishonest with anybody. So, I kept saying Marinette and I were just friends until I realized it was more than that."

"Wait, the girl you love is Ladybug?" asks a dumbfounded Marinette. "For real?"

Adrien looks at her and replies, "Uhuh. I've had a thing for her ever since she showed up. But more and more I began to realize it wasn't going to work, that's why I thought maybe I could have a relationship with Kagami, because I know her from fencing class and we get along okay. But the feelings weren't there, not like they are with you. I was just too dumb to see it before."

And further, to Marinette: "I don't know what you think about all of this or what your feelings are. Maybe you've got something going with Luka or someone else, and that's good. I guess sometimes it takes something like what happened to you to realize what's in front of you that you're missing out on."

Marinette walks right up to him, almost nose to nose and says, "so, we're not 'just friends' anymore?"

"Nope," he says, "not on my part."

"Not on mine either," she replies, looking him squarely in the eyes.

Adrien's eyes widen considerably. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. So, where do we go from here?" she asks.

Adrien rubs the back of his neck and says, "well, I was thinking about asking if I could kiss you, if it isn't too much and too soon to ask." He looks down, afraid to look her in the eyes.

And she puts her hands on his chest and says, "how long do I have to wait for you to make up your mind? Are you going to kiss me or what?"

He looks up surprised, and they share one knee-knockin', meltdown of a kiss. "Whoooa," each exclaims after it's over.

"I think you fried every nerve ending in my entire body," he tells her. She giggles.

"Well, it's about time," says Alya.

"Way to go, dude!" this from Nino.

"Son, we need to talk," says Marinette's father.

"Marinette, we need to talk," says her mother.

Alya and Nino look at each other and head for the door. "See ya tomorrow. Maybe. If you're lucky." And they laugh as they walk out.

Who knows where the story goes in future episodes. Since Lila has admitted to her lying, it's hard to see her making much more trouble, unless she gets akumatized again, which is always possible.

Eventually, the Adrienette ship is going sail. Might be a short fling with Luka first, who I think already knows where Marinette's heart lies. Maybe he'll get together with Kagami, who knows?

Also, there are a few things I want to cover for when Adrienette does happen. And IMHO, it will. Dealing with his father, Chloe, and Lila, among others. And I'm pretty sure Marinette's dad wants to have that conversation with young Mr. Agreste. So, another story is coming up, not sure when it'll be ready but not too long. There could be a couple of new episodes coming out this week, so I might wait a few days and see what transpires.

Thanks for reading.


End file.
